The Academy of Art University

So I just wanted to share my experience so I can warn everyone about this school. I do not mean to bad mouth this school in no way shape or form but you have to remind yourself that this school is a for profit institution so they dont really care that you learn anything as long as you pay them. They will try to charge you for everything, maybe even breathing on campus if they could. At first I was interested in the school because of the program, it is very good in theory. If they were to hire more professional employees interested in actually educating students and not just failed artists who need jobs they could have something going for them. I am pretty sure if they did, they wouldnt let just anyone attend. I had classmates who knew nothing about the craft, to me it was something they just wanted to do because it's cool, which is one of the down sides to going to an institution that doesn't require a portfolio. I must remind you that I am speaking for the undergraduate program, specifically the motion pictures department. There was one class that I really benefit from, the instructor was really professional and on top of the students, making sure everyone was doing what they were supposed to. But in another class the instruction not only missed the first day of class, but several days after that. I can honestly say anything I had to learn for that class I did on my own, she was not helpful at all and would play movies and tell us to think about it, and not give us any particular explanation. I knew of a few students who filed complaints about her the thing is about a private school education that also in theory it is better quality for the price so for me I am not a rich kid at all I am just extremely hard working and thought I deserved a quality education but for the price it just wasn't worth it. I am very serious about my education so I just went forward with it and got some pretty decent grades. I think it could have been better though if some of my instructors knew what they were doing. Despite these experiences I moved away from san francisco and wanted to continue my education so signed up for online classes. This is the warning I am talking about, if you are an online student and on financial aid, stay on top of it or dont do it at all because they will not notify you of anything. So I signed up this fall and I was told my loans were approved and to sign a note, same as usual and I thought everything was going fine but none of my financial aid had gone through. I thought maybe they didn't update my information so I called them several times. Trust me when I say several times on several days for a month. I was told to sign the note every time, at this point I had done it twice once before classes started and again after school started and still nothing. So a month later my advisor calls me asking for a form, when they could have asked me several times before when I tried to contact her, but I was completely ignored. Then I got an attitude from her because I didn't give her the form right away when I wasnt notified and they put a hold on my online account. So at this point I was completely furious because of neglect and unprofessionalism I was going to get an absence and that would very much affect my grade, again my grade being effected because of the schools lack of professionalism and concern for students. You see I say this because they are so easy to hold my account for money they did not receive because of their neglect and lack of communication but when I tried to contact them they didn't want to deal with me. I decided to take my loses and transfer to a regular institution, I just continued because I didn't want to bother with the hassle of transfering but I see that compared to my experience it would have been no bother at all.

1st Year Female -- Class 2014

Surrounding City: A+, Education Quality: F

I have learned a great deal at AAU, the only problem is finding quality teachers. The online courses are fantastic but you miss out on the classroom experience and facilities. The school is really what you make of it-work hard and you will receive the benefits. By all means if you cannot understand the teacher (many Asian teachers)' because of language barrier, SWITCH! In conclusion , the school has much to offer, they need to remove the unqualified teachers and the faculty needs to be accessible to better help its students.

2nd Year Female -- Class 2014

Surrounding City: B+, Faculty Accessibility: D-

Architecture Department:
I enrolled in AAU's architecture department expecting to receive the tools that would help me grow creatively and academically. I don't even know where to begin to explain why AAU's architecture department is so faulty.

First of all, I'm warning that although some places they advertise that the program is accredited. It is only accredited by WAASC, NOT by the architecture accreditation board. And they just started the architecture department so no one has graduated yet, and they still don't have the curriculum don't pat.

If all you want out of an architecture degree is to be a little creative, then go for AAU. Other than that, graduating with their BFA in architecture will do nothing for you. The classes that should be there to support your future in being an architect like physics, language,and mathematics are ALL A BIG FAT JOKE. Excuse me but - I want to be a seriously taken architect and I want to have a level of higher education in subjects other than what is esthetically pleasing for a building.

Most of students are fairly all nice, but some of them are unmotivated and are just wasting their time and money. Whats worse is that they think they're better than you just because they went to a few years of community college. If you're straight out from high school - don't go here. You'll be treated like a baby. A stupid one at that.

Theres no communication with the some of the staff and the head of the department Alberto Bertolli. He just sits around and doesn't give a fuck when the instructors try to talk to him about regulating the curriculum. He honestly has no clue whats going on when the students bring up an issue to him.

Dont get me wrong. There are a few good things about the department. The computer labs and wood shop are all new, and the printing system is pretty efficient. The IT's and the shop helpers are all super nice. The actual architecture studio itself really is a good class to take, but only if you're lucky enough to have at least one of the 3 good instructors there (Ethan Wood, Beverly Choe, & Geoffrey Gibson).

Overall:
If there were one thing to make you feel better about how dreadful the architecture department is, it would be the city of San Francisco itself. It's always alive and there's always something to do with lots of opportunities to meet people. Yes there's a big homeless population, but unless they're hobos in the tenderloin; they usually don't harm people or cause too much trouble.

The public transit system is pretty good, and if you don't feel like taking a bus everyone walks in San Francisco.

In the end you'll realize that San Francisco is your campus because AAU doesn't really have much of one. There is no school spirit. Since there really isn't a campus to unite the students, a lot of people kind of go off and do their own thing in the city. This could be a good or bad thing to someone.

To anyone thinking about going to AAU for majors other than the Architecture department: pretty much the only worth while degree is the Fine Arts.

My room mate was a Fine Arts painting major, and she loved every single one of her teachers. I've seen their course work and how much she and the other Fine Arts kids were improving and i can tell you that it is definitely professional grade work.

1st Year Female -- Class 2014

Surrounding City: A+, Extracurricular Activities: F